Nameless (WTA)

The spirits that are only called the Nameless are among the most powerful servants of the Wyld.

Overview

If the Umbra is a constant cascade of resonances and consequences, the Nameless are among the most overt such aspects, as they were birthed by the Wyld to spite the desire of the Weaver to name, organize, and categorize everything. Those Garou who unwisely anthropomorphize the Triat may attribute a kind of personal pettiness to the existence of the Nameless.

As such, a Nameless is a paradoxical spirit of being uncategorizable, unorganizable, and, obviously, unnamable. They can not be defined, measured or otherwise quantified, not even by the Weaver herself, for they are the chaos of the Wyld incarnate. Their powers and abilities are unmeasurable, but at their last resort, they are able to assume the name of a creature, creating a massive explosion in the scale of a nuclear detonation, both on the spiritual and the physical plane.

Becoming Nameless often comes as a result of being discarded, disfavored, ignored, or unacknowledged. It is strange, then, that this spirit is associated with the Wyld rather than the obliteration and entropy of the Wyrm, but some Garou attribute being undone by the Nameless to being forgotten specifically, but nonetheless missed, or perhaps created to take the edge off sorrow for that which is lost.

"Image"

The Nameless has no consistent appearance; it is a constant flux of forms recognizable and otherwise. It is the opposite of possession; it is the breaking free of a spiritual connection (if it ever had a spiritual reflection at all).

A Nameless is able to take away aspects of a target’s identity, rendering any abilities or Traits associated with that aspect useless. By touching the victim, the Nameless can remove one defining identity characteristic of the target, as well as any abilities associated with it. In the case of a Garou this aspect can be their auspice or tribe, and any Gifts derived therefrom. The loss of aspect lasts for a variable number of days, though the Nameless can voluntarily rescind the loss if a suitable deal can be made with the spirit (if it wants to communicate at all).

Stats

Revised Edition

• Willpower: 9, Rage: 10, Gnosis: 9, Essence: 30
• Charms: All non-Weaver/non-Wyrm Charms, Taking the Name

20th Anniversary Edition

• Willpower: 9, Rage: 10, Gnosis: 9, Essence: 30
• Charms: All non-Weaver/non-Wyrm Charms, Taking the Name

Fifth Edition

• Power: 3–7
• Exceptional Dice Pools: Occult (Void Aspect) +3

Charm

Taking the Name:
This is the Nameless One's ultimate power, the one it reserves for a last-ditch effort. By taking the name from an entity, the Nameless One looses the internal spiritual forces that hold a creature together. In effect, it is splitting the spiritual nature of a thing, much in the way an atom bomb splits an atom. The result is an enormous destructive explosion, on both the spiritual and physical planes. The Nameless One expends all of its remaining Essence, and rolls that dice pool in a roll opposed by the target's Willpower. If the target gets more successes, it survives the onslaught, and the Nameless One perishes. If the Nameless One gets more successes, it dies, but in the process of removing the target's name, the target explodes in a burst of primal energy. The explosion is akin to a nuclear weapon's detonation. The Storyteller should use her best judgement as to how that affects anyone in the area, but instant death is a pretty clean way to go.

Version Differences

Initially introduced in Revised edition and also seen in 20th Anniversary edition, the Nameless are brought back in a reduced state in Werewolf: The Apocalypse's 5th edition. Where in their introduction they were stated to be major servants of the Wyld capable of an antimatter-esque nuclear explosion (see Overview), 5th edition's version of the Nameless are presented as more run-of-the-mill jagglings or remarkably potent (in a single capacity) gafflings and, rather than the capacity for explosiveness, are given the ability to remove the 'names' of other beings (see "Image"), which was not present in their original incarnation.

References

• WTA: Book of the Wyld, p. 31, 84-85
• W20: Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition, p. 453
• WTA: Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition, p. 257-258